Women trounce men at DIY

ASSEMBLING flat-pack furniture is a ready-made way of sparking an argument between couples.

PUBLISHED: 00:00, Tue, Dec 9, 2008

JOB DONE: Women approach DIY tasks calmly (Europics)

But it is women who are better at putting together the boxed-up bookshelves than men, according to a female boss at furniture store Ikea.

The man of the house may be keener to show off his “construction skills” while the fairer sex wins hands-down in the real DIY stakes, according to Petra Hesser, head of the Swedish giant’s German operation.

It is all down to women approaching the task calmly and following instructions from beginning to end, she said.

“Men never look at the directions and have the most problems with construction because they always think they can do that,” she told the Austrian Times.

Confirming that women are better at putting together their furniture, she said: “Tests have shown this to be true.”

Ms Hesser said that even though the instructions might be confusing and complex, women more often take the time to study them first, whereas men are impatient and tackle the job with no clue what they are doing.

Ms Hesser added: “The woman first sorts the parts in an orderly way. Men throw them in a pile and then something goes missing.”

Psychologist Gladeana McMahon said it was little surprise that women confound the stereotypical image that they are poor at DIY.

She said: “Men often joke about women not being very good at DIY but it is not the case at all. Women are far more patient and look at things in a much calmer way than men.

“They take their time, whereas men often feel under pressure to achieve things quickly.

“Men think they should be able to do these kind of tasks easily, as if it is wired into their DNA.

“But women take it more in their stride and, importantly, are not afraid to ask for help.

“Men won’t ask for help often because they see it as an affront to their masculinity.

“Women are good at multi-tasking and use both sides of their brains, which helps them to work things out, whereas men are much more linear in their approach.”